


Little Fighter

by elitejace452



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BAMF Natasha Romanov, Childbirth, F/M, Medical Procedures, Parenthood, Pregnancy, Pregnancy complications, Protective Clint Barton
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-02-23 09:43:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23576206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elitejace452/pseuds/elitejace452
Summary: Natasha is 27 weeks into a pregnancy, when medical complications arise. Clint is terrified of losing the only good things he's ever had in his life.((Set after the first Avengers movie, so does it count as canon since we don't know about what the Red Room did to Natasha or about Laura + the kids yet?))
Relationships: Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov
Comments: 6
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi everyone! i'm a huge sucker for clintasha (i know, i know, i've said it before), but just a canon but non-canon little story about Natasha and Clint becoming parents! 
> 
> always a disclaimer that there could/will be medical inaccuracies!

"How about Portia or Beatrice?" Clint sounded slightly exasperated as he ran a hand through his hair, still damp from the shower. They had been debating names for the last few weeks, since finding out their baby's gender, and it was quickly becoming a struggle to find something they could agree on. "Or Hamlet?" He had been thumbing through the book of names that Tony had bought them after overhearing their debate. With their long history as spies, they had been having a hard time coming up with a name that wouldn’t remind them of a villain that they had taken down.

"A little girl named Hamlet?" Natasha raised one eyebrow as she turned her head to look at Clint, "Yea, no, you’re not setting her up for a lifetime of teasing or anything." She said sarcastically as she playfully shoved Clint away from her. She loved the downtimes that they got like this, where they could let their guard down and be comfortable together. Natasha had never imagined she would get away from her past life and find a partner who would love her like Clint did. He melted her walls away and showed her all of the good inside of her but the one thing he did that she appreciated more than just about anything was that he treated her like his equal. 

"Why don't we just wait until she's old enough to choose her own name?" Clint let his head flop back to rest on the pillow, curling his arm tighter around Natasha. The two of them were cuddled together in the middle of their huge bed. Tony had done a phenomenal job of creating them a space to live together in the tower. Their mattress was nothing short of floating on a cloud. Clint had grown up sleeping anywhere from the hard ground to mattresses that were as thin as blankets, so this type of luxury did not go unnoticed by him. When they had moved into the Tower with the other Avengers, Stark had completely customized a floor for each of the five of them, Natasha and Clint sharing one floor, and had spared no expense. Tony had reminded them that he was a billionaire and refused any type of payment towards their rooms. He had told them how much he enjoyed designing something a little different for a change. 

Clint’s other hand was resting on top of Natasha’s swollen belly, his thumb gently rubbing a circle over the swell of her stomach. It never ceased to amaze him how Natasha’s belly continued to stretch to accommodate the life that was growing inside of her. The life that they had made together. A life they had created through their love. Clint gave a small laugh when he felt the small flutter against his hand. Their little girl was already kicking up a storm, a sure sign that she was going to take after her momma. He hadn’t thought he could possibly love Natasha more, but seeing her pregnant had found a way to create a deeper love inside of him. Clint had never thought about becoming a father, especially with his upbringing, but Natasha had soothed away every fear he had when she told him she was pregnant. He remembered that day so vividly. He had just come back from a mission, a small incision on his hairline stitched together and bandaged neatly. Natasha had met him in the living room with a small box and a mischievous, happy smile on her face. He unwrapped it to pull out a shirt that said ‘World’s Best Daddy’ on it. It had taken him a full thirty seconds of staring at it to realize what it meant before he fell to his knees and pressed kisses to Natasha’s belly with tears in his eyes. He stood up and softly laid a hand on each of Natasha’s cheeks before leaning in and kissing her passionately. She had grabbed his hand and led him back to the bedroom where they celebrated the news over and over. They had waited a few more weeks to tell the rest of the team. They had all been elated by the news. 

"That is a great idea." Natasha dramatically rolled her eyes from where she had her head resting on Clint’s bare chest. She was starting to think that the best way to handle choosing a name would be to throw a bunch of names in a hat and let someone pick one out. They were Avengers and had literally fought off an alien invasion last year. They were both highly trained spies, but they couldn’t handle something as simple as picking out a name for their own child. "How can something this simple be so hard!" Clint groaned in agreement as he pressed a kiss into the top of Natasha’s head.

"We'll figure it out." Clint pressed a gentle kiss to Natasha’s neck. She was twenty-seven weeks into the pregnancy, so they had plenty of time. Everything had been going well. They had done ultrasounds routinely and the baby was progressing and hitting every landmark. Natasha was consulting at SHIELD, restricted from going out in the field. She had never been one to be idle or sit around, so she was struggling and getting restless, but she knew this was all for the baby. 

"How is it, we can make snap decisions at work or fight off aliens, but when it comes to choosing a baby's name, we can't make up our mind?" Natasha laughed and leaned her head back. She kissed Clint on the lips, savoring the lingering taste of toothpaste on his lip. Clint shrugged and returned the kiss before Natasha turned back with a smile, tucking her head into Clint's chest. "Ow shit!" Natasha exclaimed, her body going stuff. She grunted as pain erupted in her stomach. Her eyes growing large with fear.

"What's wrong?" Clint carefully rolled Natasha over, so she was facing him as panic bubbled upside of him. "What happened?" He grabbed Natasha’s shoulders with straight arms, trying to get a better look at her as Natasha tried to curl in on herself. What had caused her to be in so much pain all of a sudden? Was it something wrong with the baby? They had been lying in bed for several hours now, relishing a quiet evening off. Natasha just shook her head, confusion mingling in her eyes with the pain.

"God!" Natasha grasped her stomach with both of her hands, pressing on each side as pain rippled through her. "What the hell?" She blinked back the tears that came to her eyes. "Get someone." She said through gritted teeth as she tried to breathe through the pain. The pain was like nothing she had ever experienced before. It felt like a thousand hot bullets were ripping holes in her abdomen. She wasn’t sure if this was an early labor situation but she hadn’t imagined contractions hurting like this.

"Jarvis! Natasha needs assistance. Something’s wrong!" Clint's normally calm exterior melted at the sight of Natasha in pain as he called out for the AI. "Please, please send someone!" He stuttered, barely able to put a sentence together. He could talk fifteen agents through fight patterns on the ground without missing a beat but seeing Natasha in pain was tearing him apart. 

"Sir, help is on the way." Jarvis was not a person, so his voice was always rather monotone, but his voice sounded calmer than normal. It was as if he knew that this was an emergency and was programmed a certain way. “SHIELD medical is on their way. I have also woken the others.” He already had dispatched SHIELD medical towards the tower. The best thing to do was to get Natasha into the medical bay with the doctor that had been treating her. 

"Please tell them to hurry!” Clint was stroking Natasha's hair as he waited for help. He was scared to pick her up and move her so he just held onto her. Natasha grabbed his shirt in her fists, her knuckles flashing white as she squeezed, trying to ground herself against the pain. Clint cradled her head with one hand and wrapped his other hand around one of hers, trying to comfort her. "Help's on the way." He didn't know what else to do except he kept uttering words of comfort as he tried to figure out how he could help her.

Steve came bursting into the room first, stopping at the sight of the two of them. “What happened?” He almost shouted in fear as he came closer. “What’s wrong?” He repeated when there was no reply. Clint opened his mouth, but no words came out as he shook his head. Tony and Pepper came running in next. Tony barked another set of orders to JARVIS, who informed them that SHIELD medical would be with them within the next three minutes. Pepper pressed her closed fists against her face as she let tears fall. Bruce stumbled in last, wiping sleep from his face to take in the horror. He reached out and put a shaking hand on Natasha’s upper back. 

It seemed like centuries before medical personal came rushing into their bedroom. Clint had never been so happy to see a medical team. 

"Agent Romanoff, my name is Sadie. I'm a medic. Can you tell me what happened?" Sadie asked as she climbed onto the bed with Natasha and started checking her pupils, then her vitals. She tutted when she didn’t like the numbers she saw and carefully placed an oxygen mask on Natasha's face. Natasha started sucking in the extra air the second the valve was turned on. Natasha hadn't realized she was gasping for air until the mask was on her face.

"Agent Barton, I'm Jacob, I'm a medic. Can you tell me what happened here?" Jacob probed gently, trying to get the agent to focus on him for a minute. Clint was obviously distraught and cared for the other agent, but they were given basically no details enroute other than a pregnant agent in distress and they needed all the information they could get.

"We, uh, we had the evening off and just, we were discussing baby names. She, I, she just ah, she was fine and now-" He motioned to the woman writhing in pain on the bed. "She's twenty-seven weeks pregnant. Everything’s been fine so far. She’s been on light duty. She’s an Avenger.” Clint trailed off. He knew he was rambling. He just was still in total shock that Natasha had been completely fine one second and in so much pain just a second later. 

"Thanks, we're going to prepare to take her to the hospital." Jacob said as he went towards the bed. Sadie had already placed an IV in the crook of Natasha's elbow and was wrapping a blood pressure cuff around her upper arm. "You can come with us." Clint nodded as he stood up numbly. Jacob positioned the gurney at the side of the bed. In a fluid motion, Natasha was transferred to the gurney and then they were rolling towards the door. Clint thought his knees might give out on him at any second as he ran down the hall with them, holding Natasha’s hand. Steve sprinted ahead to make sure that the elevator doors were open. Tony grabbed Pepper’s hand and rushed after the group, Bruce bringing up the rear as they all wondered if everything was going to be okay.


	2. Chapter 2

Everything had happened so fast Clint wasn’t even sure what to think. It felt like he was stuck in a cliché, the rush of the ambulance ride and the hours of waiting where the clock didn't seem to be moving. It felt like one big blur, an awful nightmare that on his darkest day, he could not have imagined. Not only was Natasha in danger, but his unborn little girl. 

"Can you tell me something, please?" Clint pleaded as he approached the nurse that had emerged from behind the doors that were keeping him from seeing Natasha and their child. He wasn't sure how long he had been pacing out here. He might go crazy if he didn't tell him soon how they were doing. 

"I'm sorry, I don't know anything." The nurse threw her hands up in as a defense as she shuffled around Clint. Clint had to restrain a growl as he stepped back, letting her scurry by. He felt like he was wilting away out here. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Natasha writhing in pain on the bed as she held onto her stomach.

"Clint.” Steve’s voice was soothing and quiet as he stepped forward to be in Clint’s line of vision. Clint had almost forgotten that they were there. Pepper, Tony, and Bruce were all sitting in the row of chairs. They were all quiet, with solemn looks on their faces. Pepper was clutching onto Tony’s hand, her eyes red from shedding tears. “Natasha is strong.” That was the only comfort that he could provide. He couldn’t shake Natasha’s face, contorted with pain as they slipped an oxygen mask over her face. Steve led Clint back to the chairs and got him to sit in between him and Bruce, leaving one hand on his back. 

“They won't tell me anything." Clint’s voice was hoarse, like he had been screaming for hours. He felt like he might lose his mind if he didn’t learn something soon. 

"Family of Natasha Romanoff?" Clint literally jumped up from the chair when a doctor entered the room. He had thick, rimmed glasses on and looked like he hadn't slept in a month. His name tag read Dr. Brunswick, M.D. The line underneath said Obstetrics.

"That's me.” Clint answered quickly, thinking he might burst before the doctor got the news out. 

"Agent Romanoff is stable. We have been able to stop the contractions with drugs. She is also being administered a steroid that will help the baby's lungs mature as quickly as possible. We will be admitting her to keep a close eye on her. We are unsure of what caused the early labor currently, but we are going to try to keep the baby inside of her as long as possible.” Dr. Brunswick paused, "She's being moved to a maternity suite. You are welcome to go see her." Clint had to stop himself from sprinting as he thanked the doctor and took off. He led the way to Natasha’s room before taking a deep breath to steady himself. 

"Hey.” Natasha gave the team a tiny smile as they entered the room quietly. Natasha looked pale and even tinier than normal underneath the blankets that were piled on top of her and there was an IV contraption that covered the entire back of her hand and ran up to the IV machine, where there were three different bags attached. A nasal cannula was nestled underneath her nose and she had several colorful wires running out of her gown by her shoulder. There was also a large lump where a monitor sat on her belly, providing a constant heartrate of the baby. While Natasha looked uncomfortable, she didn't seem to be in the same excruciating pain anymore and Clint felt some of his panic washing away. 

"How are you?" Clint rushed to her side, grabbing her IV free hand as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. He ran his hand over the top of her head, smoothing down the few runaway hairs. The physical touch helped to soothe the fire burning in his gut.

"I've had better days." She gave him a ghost of a smile. "They don't why this happened yet." Clint looked into Natasha’s eyes and he could see the fear swimming in her hazel green eyes. "I'm not going home anytime soon." She tried to lighten the mood with a half-attempted joke, but it fell flat. All Natasha wanted right now was for her baby to be healthy and for the rest of this pregnancy to go according to plan.

"We'll do whatever the doctor says." Clint gave her a smile and squeezed her hand, trying to reassure her. He hated seeing her like this. He knew that the rest of the team felt the same way. They were used to the badass Natasha, not this frail Natasha. Frail was a weird word to apply to the spy, but she just looked so pale in the hospital bed that made her look small. Steve stepped in behind Clint so that he could give Natasha a hug. Tony felt a lot of the tension he had been carrying in his shoulders drop away. They were all still scared, but it made an immense difference to see Natasha back looking more normal. 

"We're here for you." Steve gave her a hug, tenderly avoiding the tubes and wires. He was relieved that she seemed to be resting easy. He also knew that her being here in the hospital was the best place for her to be. The medical team here would provide top of the line care for Natasha and the baby. 

“Are you okay?” Clint asked, rephrasing his first question of how she was. He knew that she was scared and hurting, but he needed to know more. He was sure that once the others had left, she would talk to him more, but he couldn’t stop himself from asking now. 

"I've got a headache, but the contractions have gone away." She spared everyone the specific details. She didn't tell everyone that her head pounded like a jackhammer had been set free inside of it and she felt like she had the flu and meningitis at the same time. "The nurse brought some medicine not too long ago. It's safe for the baby."

"That's good." Bruce said, relief evident in his voice. He had grown a lot closer to Natasha in the past few months. While he hated seeing anyone of the team in pain, seeing the younger woman in pain had really scared him. Natasha smiled at him, a little wider than the last smile. She carefully leaned back onto the multitude of pillows behind her back. A knock on the door made them all turn. An apron clad volunteer entered with a tray of food, jaw dropping as she took in the visitors in the room. She brought the tray over, flustered, carefully setting it down with shaky hands. Natasha grimaced but tried to hide it. Hospital food wasn't exactly high up on her list and seeing it always reminded her of the other times she was in the hospital. The volunteer wished them a good night in a small voice and ducked out. They waited around while Natasha ate and talked with her for a few minutes after. Once she started yawning, they all bid her a good night and headed out.

~*~*~*~

"How are you feeling today?" Steve asked quietly as he walked into the room, taking the spot in the chair that Bruce had just vacated. Natasha was curled on her side, a washcloth covering her eyes. The lights were off, and the blinds were drawn, but the washcloth helped keep any light from penetrating.

"Been better." Natasha mumbled. She had been battling bouts of vertigo since for the past forty-eight hours and none of the medications were helping. All it took was for her to shake her head and she would throw up. Just getting to the bathroom was a struggle since she would sway on her feet. The doctor had asked if she wanted to try a bedside commode, but the look that Natasha had given him meant that it was never brought up again. Clint had a trashcan resting between his feet and both of his hands were clutching Natasha cold hand. She was under a heated blanket but the vomiting had disrupted her body’s homeostasis and she was cold all the time. His face had aged a decade in the past week that Natasha had been confined to this hospital room. 

"Sorry to hear." Steve set the cup of coffee on the windowsill, as far away from Natasha as possible. He really hoped that the smell wouldn't make Natasha sick. Sometimes, when she would wake up from a nap and her body started to re-adjust to the smell of antiseptic that all hospitals reeked of, she would throw up. The doctor had ordered IV nourishment so that the baby's health wouldn't suffer from the lack of nutrients.

"Gonna hurl." Natasha barely got out before Clint had her head cradled in his hand and the trashcan underneath her mouth. Steve winced as the sound of Natasha throwing up resonated through the small room. Clint faithfully held the can until Natasha nodded that she was done. Clint hated seeing Natasha this way, but he was being as involved as he could be. Nothing would make him step away. He already loved the little girl growing inside of Natasha with all of his heart but hated what a toll it was taking on Natasha’s body.

"Sorry." Steve hastily dumped the cup of coffee down the sink and threw the cup away, rinsing the remains of the coffee away as fast as possible. He felt guilty that he had caused her to throw up. He was not trying to cause Natasha any more pain. 

"Not your fault." Natasha gave him a small smile, assuring him that she wasn't upset at him. She was grateful for the rest of their team and their response to her hospitalization. Clint flat refused to go anywhere, and the team brought him food, changes of clothes, and wrestled him into the reclining chair for a few hours of sleep every once in a while. 

"The doctor hasn’t been by today, so we aren’t sure what his plan will be." Clint told Steve, his voice betraying just how exhausted he was. Natasha shifted underneath his hand before she screamed out in pain. "What's wrong?" Clint had jumped to his feet, look over Natasha, trying to see what was causing the pain. Natasha clutched at her belly as pain seared through her stomach like it had a week ago. She eyes squeezed shut.

"What's happening?" Steve rushed over to Natasha side and his eyes grew wide in horror. Crimson blood was expanding across the white sheet as Natasha clutched at Clint’s shirt. "I'll get the doctor!" He sprinted from the room, yelling for help. 

"Agent Romanoff?" Dr. Brunswick came flying into the room, a team of nurses pressing in behind him. "We need to take you to surgery _now_. You need an emergency C-section." He snatched the feed out from the heart monitor and saw that the baby's heart rate was dipping dramatically. "Your baby is not getting enough oxygen. You're having a placental abruption." The nurses started preparing Natasha to be moved.

"What, I, she's not ready!" Natasha started to hyperventilate. She struggled to sit up before being gently pushed back down by Dr. Brunswick. An oxygen mask was carefully fitted over her nose and mouth and the IV that was providing her fluids was opened wider.

"Your baby has over a ninety percent chance of survival if we deliver her now. We are having one of the best neonatologists in the country brought here and they are ready to assist your baby however they need. We will have to put you under general anesthesia." The doctor told Natasha before he barked a few orders at the nearest nurse. 

"I won’t get to see my baby when she’s born?" Natasha questioned as she looked at Clint. He looked just as terrified and freaked out as she did. He knew he could possibly lose both his wife and unborn child in the next few minutes. He continued to rub her hand as another wave of pain washed over her. It was like her insides were trying to rearrange themselves.

“I’m sorry, but no. We don’t have time to wait for a local.” Dr. Brunswick hated delivering bad news. For the most part, his job was happy and exciting, but moments like these were never easy. He knew that these parents were facing an awful reality that no parent was ever ready for. 

"I-I'm scared." Natasha’s voice was so quiet Clint almost missed it. Having a baby was supposed to end with a pink, healthy, screaming baby being placed on her stomach with the pain of labor and delivery forgotten. Clint would get to cut the cord and they would be left alone for a while to enjoy the first moments with their baby girl, who was still yet to be named. “We don’t have a name.” 

"I know, it’s okay." Clint’s voice broke. Natasha was a fighter and incredibly strong and he knew that their little girl would inherit that from her.

"We need to take her now. Sir, you won't be able to come." The doctor was apologetic, but the NICU team made it a tight fit in the operating room. The doctor did not disclose that there would be a high amount of blood loss. They would be moving as quickly as they could to make sure they saved both mother and child's life and it would be gory. The NICU team would most likely be resuscitating the infant and no new father needed to see that.

"I, I- Just please save them." Clint didn't even know what to say at this point. He wanted a healthy baby and a healthy Natasha. He did not want to get in the way of the doctor. He gave Natasha one final kiss on her forehead. “I love you so much.” He blinked, trying not to show her how scared he was when she needed him to be strong. 

“I love you too.” Natasha raised her hand to touch Clint’s face. 

"We need to move!" The doctor unlocked the brakes on the bed and the nurses finished detaching the last of the equipment. Together, they pushed the bed out of the room, leaving a devastated Clint behind. He sank back into the chair, trying to process what had just happened.

"Clint?" Steve had recovered from his own shock and laid a hand on Clint's shoulder. Steve heart was still racing at the scene that had just unfolded as they settled in to wait once more. 

~*~*~*~

Natasha felt herself starting to slip into unconsciousness as a mask was placed gently on her face. The tangy taste of the anesthesia slipped down her throat and into her lungs. She regretted that she would not be able to hear her daughter's first cries, but she knew the doctor was doing what he thought was best. She wished that Clint could be in here. She tried to think about his love surrounding her as she started to fall into the deep, black hole that anesthesia created.

"We'll do everything we can." Dr. Brunswick gave her a kind look over the small curtain that separated Natasha' head and shoulders from the rest of her body. Natasha let her eyes flutter shut for the final time as the anesthesia took over. She knew that she was in good hands and Dr. Brunswick would do everything in his power to keep her baby safe.

~*~*~*~

"How long does it take?" Clint was starting to lose control. He felt the panic building up as he watched the secondhand tick by. It felt like time was slowing down. Clint just wanted to go sprinting into the operating room. A baby's arrival was supposed to be full of happiness and joy, not anxiety and fear.

"It's only been thirteen minutes." Steve checked his watch. He knew down to the second, what time they had taken Natasha back to surgery.

"Why couldn't I be there?" Clint moaned, with his face in his hands. He knew logically why he couldn't be in the room, but he wanted to be holding Natasha' hand more than anything in the world. He just wanted to be telling her that this was all going to be over soon, and their little girl was going to be okay.

"Any news?" Tony came running into the room, with Bruce close behind. Steve did a double take to see Thor, dressed in civilian clothes following behind. They had informed the Asgardian of the complications with the pregnancy as soon as it had happened. He had told them to keep him in the loop and he would be there as soon as possible. The five of them formed a semi-circle around Clint, like they could keep away the bad thoughts with their physical bodies. The amount of tension was unbearable in the small hospital room. They all just wanted for Natasha to be okay and for the unborn baby girl to be healthy. All they could do is pace back and forth and hope that the next minute brought good news.

"They will be rolling by with your new baby girl in a few moments. We have gotten her stabilized, but we need to get her up to the NICU immediately." A nurse came bursting into the hospital room where the Avengers were assembled. The men made a beeline for the door, pressing themselves against the wall outside the room so that they could stay out of the way but see the new baby. Clint felt shivers running through his body. He had no clue what to expect when he saw his daughter.

"Which one of you is the lucky daddy?" A kind looking nurse called from down the hall as the huge warming unit came rattling around the corner. There was a small swarm of nurses surrounding the unit. Clint felt his heart drop at the size of the container. There were machines and wires come out from all sides of the contraption.

"That's me." Clint replied after a second, taking a small step forward. As the unit came closer, he felt his heart plummet further down, like it might drop out of his body entirely. His new daughter was the size of one of his hands. She looked more like a newborn puppy than a newborn child.

"Your daughter is quite the fighter. Some of these machines are just monitoring how strong she is." The nurse said, seeing the look on Clint's face. "She's already beating the odds." She had watched the color drain out of his face as he set eyes on his daughter for the first time. It was a reaction that never stopped pulling at her heart strings. Most fathers didn't expect to meet their little baby covered in wires with tubes emerging from everywhere. It was a far cry from the scene that most dads imagined. They expected to cut the cord and have a swaddled infant placed in their arms, not a squash sized baby sprawled out in the warming unit.

"She-she is?" Clint managed to spit out. How could something so small survive? She looked so fragile that if someone simply touched her, she would shatter into a million pieces. Clint had never seen something so small. He had watched a few birth videos to prepare and the babies that were born in those videos were literally fifteen times bigger than this child was, his child.

"She tried to take a few breaths on her own, but we had to step in and help her." The nurse had seen more than her share of frantic dads and was experienced in keeping her voice level and reassuring the dads that it wasn't quite as bad as it looked. She wished that they had more time to stand in the hallway and explain every wire that was attached to the tiny girl, but unfortunately, they didn't have time. "We can talk more when you come up to the NICU later with her mommy." They started to wheel the unit past the group of gathered men and then they were gone.

"Oh my God." Clint sank down to the floor. He had thought he had been prepared for how small she was going to be, how fragile she would look, but he was wrong. It was like someone had taken an ice pick and hammered it into his heart. He could see every one of the little girl's ribs and her arms and legs were about as long and thick as his pinky finger.

"You heard the nurse. She's a fighter." Thor’s was booming as he crouched next to Clint and clapped him hard on the shoulder. Clint looked up at him, his eyes haunted.

"I, how can she be so small?" Clint held his hands up, trying to remember how far apart to place them. His favorite fruit, a watermelon, would probably hold five or six of her. What if she never got come home to the room that was just starting to resemble a nursery? What if they had to do the unthinkable? Clint felt bile rising in his throat as he swallowed hard and blinked away the terrible images. She just had to be okay. She just had to be. The nurse had said she was a fighter.

"It's going to be okay." Steve hoped he was telling Clint the truth. "You'll go up in a little while and get to see her again." Clint nodded numbly at him. Thor helped him stand back up and lead him back into Natasha room. Clint would have to be strong for Natasha. He knew she was going to feel incredibly guilty, even though this was not her fault. Clint jumped when the door opened almost immediately after he got settled into a chair.

"Which one of you is Clint?" Another nurse came in, still wearing shoe covers over her sneakers. Her hair was pulled back tightly from her face and Clint knew that she had to be a surgical nurse.

"I am!" Clint leapt to his feet and hurried towards the nurse. "Is Natasha okay?"

"Agent Romanoff made it through surgery and is in the Recovery Room." The nurse gave Clint a cheerful smile. Clint felt relief rush over him like a waterfall. Clint could hear the sighs of relief behind him from the rest of guys. They all needed to hear the good news after the rough scene they had just experienced. "I can take you back with me and you can sit with her until she wakes up." Clint just nodded his head, a goofy grin on his face. While his baby girl was entering a huge fight, the love of his life was recovering. "Right this way!" The nurse beckoned him to follow her. Clint turned back once and saw the guys giving him nods of encouragement as he left the room. "Here she is!" The nurse drew the curtain back enough for him to slip through. A chair was set up next to her bed and Clint sat down in it.

"Thank you." Clint said as the nurse closed the curtain. "Baby, I was so worried." Clint said, reaching out to stroke her forehead. An oxygen mask was still on her face and her right hand was a complex network of IVs and electrodes, but the rest of her was relatively normal. He grabbed her left hand with his and just sat there in the silence for a few minutes. "Oh Natasha, she is so tiny. I don't know how someone can be so small, but the nurse said she was a fighter. If she's anything like us, she'll fight like hell." Clint reveled in how peaceful and calm Natasha looked for the first time in a week, there was no pain or worry in her face, and she was finally resting. He hoped that she was not dreaming, but just sleeping peacefully before she awoke to the chaos. 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! let me know what you think! :) (there will be lots of fluff at the end of this one, it's already fully written!)
> 
> also, any good recommendations for clintasha? i love the hurt/comfort or when clint gets hurt trying to save natasha, gets tortured for her, or just anything... i've read a lot but always love hearing about other stories that people have liked!


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